Too Short a Season
' |image= |series= |production=40271-112 |producer(s)= |story=Michael Michaelian |script=Michael Michaelian D.C. Fontana |director=Rob Bowman |imdbref=tt0708832 |guests=Clayton Rohner as Adm. Mark Jameson, Marsha Hunt as Anne Jameson, Michael Pataki as Karnas |previous_production=Hide and Q |next_production=The Big Goodbye |episode=TNG S01E16 |airdate=6 February 1988 |previous_release=11001001 |next_release=When the Bough Breaks |story_date(s)=Stardate 41309.5 |previous_story=Hide and Q |next_story=The Big Goodbye }} =Summary= The Federation starship Enterprise brings aboard the elderly Admiral Mark Jameson and his wife Anne on request of Karnas, the Governor of Mordan IV. Karnas warns that a dissident terrorist group has taken a Federation Ambassador and his staff hostage, and demand to speak to a negotiator. Jameson had negotiated a previous settlement on Mordan IV. As the ship travels to Mordan IV, they find that Jameson is becoming stronger and more able to move about on his own, and is no longer showing signs of the terminal Iverson's Disease he was known to have before he was beamed aboard. The crew discovers that Jameson has been taking an array of drugs to reverse the aging process over the last two years, and only recently has taken an overdose of the drugs to prepare himself for the negotiations. Jameson begins to appear younger and full of energy, but has frequent pains as a result of the overdose. By the time they are nearing Mordan, Jameson now appears as a young adult. As they approach the planet, Jameson begins audio communication with Karnas to learn more of the situation, but soon discovers that it is Karnas himself that has taken the Federation staff. Karnas reminds Jameson that his treachery during their last encounter on Mordan IV resulted in years of war. Against the advice of Picard, Jameson devises plans to rescue the hostages by transporting the away team, now including the captain, to the tunnels beneath Karnas' mansion, where Jameson believes the hostages are being held. Picard privately confronts Jameson about Karnas' motives. Jameson reveals that in the past, Karnas had captured a Federation starliner in revenge for the death of his father by another local tribe. Jameson had negotiated for the passengers' release by giving Karnas what he demanded, a supply of Federation weapons. However, Jameson, in his interpretation of the Prime Directive, also supplied the warring tribes with an equal number of weapons. Jameson had thought this would only lead to a short-lived skirmish, and had not expected a war that would last over forty years. Jameson is now insistent on correcting his past mistake and thus took the reverse aging drug in order to be at his best. In orbit, the Enterprise crew and Jameson beam down into the tunnels beneath Karnas' manor, but find that their arrival was anticipated and face off against armed guards. Jameson collapses during the fight, and the crew beams back to the Enterprise, where they discover Jameson was not shot but instead the reverse aging drug is destroying his body. Karnas demands to see Jameson or he will kill a hostage every 15 minutes. Picard opts to beam himself, Dr. Crusher, Jameson, and eventually Jameson's wife Anne directly to Karnas' office. Though Karnas initially refuses to believe that the young man is Jameson, Picard shows him the images of his reverse aging over the last few days after which Jameson reveals a scar on his wrist inflicted by Karnas years ago. Karnas prepares to fire on Jameson to get his revenge, but decides to get his revenge by watching Jameson suffer and die horribly from the drug instead. Jameson dies shortly afterward in his wife's embrace. Karnas agrees to let the hostages go, and to allow Jameson to be buried on Mordan IV at Anne's request. =Errors and explanations= Plot Oversights # Yar apparently making little effort to ensure the safety of her senior officers during the away mission, by allowing Admiral jameson and Captain Picard to enter a newly opened room, which she has bearly glanced into. That single glance may be enough to convince her the room is safe. Nit Central # Keith Alan Morgan on Monday, April 19, 1999 - 07:23 am: On the wall behind Karnas are two phasers and two rifles, visible everytime Karnas speaks to the Enterprise. The two phasers look very much like Federation phasers and toward the end of the show Karnas grabs one of the rifles and says, "Die by your own weapon!" Why didn't any member of the bridge crew say, "Weren't those Federation weapons on the wall behind Karnas?" They probably didn't want to risk triggering a diplomatic incident, in case Karnas responded by harming the hostages. # Speaking of Federation weapons, where did Jameson get his hands on the weapons to give Karnas and the others? Wouldn't Federation weapons be registered? Even if Jameson were captain of a ship at the time of the negotiation, wouldn't Starfleet be a little suspicious to find a large number of weapons had disappeared? How would you cover it up? Claim they were all malfunctioning and needed to be destroyed? If Jameson had bought them from a third party wouldn't there have been some kind of trail, such as missing money, food, medical supplies? Chris Diehl on Wednesday, March 30, 2005 - 1:48 pm: Jameson covered up the weapons he sent to Mordan, and says in his confession to Picard that he'd falsified some records to hide what he'd done. =Sources= Category:Episodes Category:The Next Generation